Planets as Rulers of Signs

by Rev. Alice Miller

I use modern rulerships and I believe that rulerships are also evolving. This happens as what was once esoteric/hidden becomes more exoteric/open to all. New planets are discovered as human consciousness rises. They become the symbol for more specific areas of consciousness. Thus, signs which once shared a planet, expand sufficiently to need individual rulers.

Once Jupiter ruled both Sagittarius and Pisces. Sagittarius is (among other things) the sign of belief, while Pisces is (among other things) the sign of faith. In this statement, faith is equated with religion which is a belief system. Historically religion is an unquestioned and unanalyzed set of beliefs.
Notice the axes involved. Sagittarius opposite Gemini suggests believe without question.
Pisces opposite Virgo suggests trust/have faith without reason/analysis.

Today, Jupiter is more clearly directed to expansion, the kind of expansion that expands outward in all directions, like rings from a pebble thrown into a pond. More specifically, it refers to mental or consciousness expansion and the mind’s ability to figure things out by linking information into ever expanding concepts of meaning.. Jupiter can be imaged as your internal CPU and/or calculator. It works mathematically. Jupiter is motivated by a search for truth–something quite different from the old notion of rigid beliefs.

Meanwhile, as we learn more about consciousness, it becomes increasingly obvious that what we normally see and use, is only a small part of the information we have available. We have a visible layer which we call conscious and a much larger area which we call unconscious–or, more properly, the subconscious and the super conscious–and probably some other realms yet to be discovered. Neptune represents that vast sea of information/memory which can be tapped in various ways, but is normally beneath the surface of awareness. Like Pisces, it is boundless.

Traditionally Mercury has ruled both Gemini and Virgo. Gemini is the sign of language and the learning that takes place through language. Gemini collects perceptual data and is mental. It is personally theoretical and largely memorized information.
Virgo is the sign of hands-on learning, of apprenticeship. Virgo is the sign of experience, of learning by doing. Virgo collects useful information-- choosing to file experience as useful or not-useful. It is about the practical pursuit of perfection (health?) through repetitive or corrective practice.

We believe that Chiron has superseded Mercury as the ruler of Virgo. Mercury clearly rules Gemini-- the brain and perception, but its rulership of the hands is less clear. The very name, Chiron, suggests handling and hands-on. (Chiro means hands) As ruler of Virgo, Chiron becomes the polarity point for Neptune, ruler of Pisces. If Neptune is the unconscious/ subconscious mind, Chiron is the conscious mind. In a very real sense, Chiron is our personal data handler, capable of a wide range of file handling functions. When we expand our mental/perceptual connections to greater realities, Chiron becomes the modem through which Mercury can pull information from the impersonal areas of Neptune’s memory, as we do through our Internet connections.

Once Saturn ruled both Capricorn and Aquarius. Saturn represents boundaries, and Capricorn represents the outlines or boundaries created by the current definition of the word human. As we evolve, we discover that there is much more to us than has traditionally been accepted as natural to humanity. Going beyond Capricorn, means becoming more than man, as it is currently defined. While Saturn ruled Aquarius, the sign was contained by the limits of possibility.

Uranus ultimately refers to possibilities. Its transits commonly break old Saturn boundaries, revealing new possibilities. It is a fit ruler for Aquarius, opening it up to unlimited possibilities, and specifically the possibility of claiming our spiritual genetics–those abilities that take us beyond the current definition of humanity. Even so, the age of Aquarius must change the definition of humanity, including new abilities unknown at the beginning of the age of Pisces.

Originally the Mars functions were divided into two signs, Scorpio and Aries. Aries rules the desire to individuate. Scorpio rules the desire to enter into something greater than self.
When Pluto was discovered, it was given rulership of Scorpio. As a fixed sign, it was assigned the realm of the fixed quality of power as contained within form. This differs from Aries-Mars' need to keep moving and using energy. Think of Aries as electrical current and Scorpio as a battery.

Mars energy can be invested in form--becoming a Pluto function. Conscious Pluto can also release the potential energy residing in the particle form, returning it to a Mars state. Mars is free energy and Pluto is concentrated or contained energy. Mars may be a dynamic, a motivating force for Aries assertiveness and pioneering spirit. Pluto can by dynamite, energy contained within form, ready to clear ground in which Scorpionic rebirth can take place. It can also be life, confined in a cocoon, while being transformed into a completely new form.